Should I keep my Facebook account?

What has Facebook become? I remember, upon first returning home from Virginia, all my friends were talking incessantly about Facebook and about how much time they wasted on there. I remember thinking "What is the point?" Then one summer, about two years ago, I called a good friend of mine (a convert to the church in Virginia who was living in Cali) and he didn't answer his phone. I left a message letting him know I was thinking about him and wanted to see how things were going out in California. He called me back two or three weeks later and let me know that he had been out to sea (he is in the Navy) and I was one of two messages he actually had received on his phone after being out to sea for three months! That's just crazy. And what's worse, the other message was from a telemarketer. So, I decided to get a Facebook account in order to keep in touch with him, which I believe was a worthy goal and purpose. Since then, I have become exposed to what Facebook seems to have become, and I am seriously re-considering my decision. Here are some of my complaints:

1.) I have always said that real friends are better than virtual friends. Hands down, I would much rather be a friend to someone in real life than to claim them as a friend on Facebook.

2.) I have always heard the argument that Facebook allows me to "keep in touch" with people I haven't seen in a while. I understand the argument, but seriously, when was the last time you actually talked to one of these people? Or how many of them have you actually un-friended? Or how many of them have you even commented on their posts? Other than my initial invite, I don't think I have done any of those things with those "long-lost-friends." So, can I really call them my friend? I guess I know that they went and bought a new fishing pole the other week. Does that qualify me as a friend?

3.) All the time I see people ragging on their family and/or friends (real life ones, not virtual ones) who are also their "friends" on Facebook and most likely see the status. Since when did personal feuds or disagreements become public? Am I archaic to think that if I am having a problem with someone, I should go to that person and work it out? This absolutely BLOWS MY MIND that people feel justified in publicly trashing on their friends and family, especially when that person will most likely read the status and see the comments below the person's post about how sorry they feel for that person and that they family or friends are being so mean. Imagine if when you messed up in school instead of having your teacher take you aside and reprimanding you or having to go to the principle's office, the teacher marched you down to the office and announced over the intercom that you had messed up? And imagine if the teacher then allowed all of his/her friends to come in and rag on you? (And I won't even go into situations where you may not have been in the wrong in the first place!!!!!) If that happened in real life, that school teacher would instantly be out of a job, and chances are the school would be shut down because no parents would want to subject their kids to that kind of treatment. (You can tell this is my biggest beef with people in Facebook)

4.) Since when did "un-friending" or even blocking becoming a retaliation tactic? I have to admit, I am guilty of this on one count, and it was one of the silliest decisions I ever made (f.y.i. I worked it out with the person, talking face-to-face, not by posting it on Facebook). There are some who get SUPER offended over another person un-friending them or blocking them on Facebook. You would think the person had gone and peed in their car. I mean, seriously people, come on!

5.) Farmville........need I say more?

Now, of course this post makes me sound like a hater, and truth be told, I understand that most of these complaints have to do with the people on Facebook and not the entity itself. I love that I can know what's going on in the lives of others. I also love that I can get a hold of someone in a foreign country whose cell-phone doesn't work. However, each of those things used be to substituted with a different communication technique (i.e. email or, heaven forbid, a telephone!). So, don't be surprised if I suddenly fall of the Facebook map sometime in the near future. And no, it isn't because I don't love you, I just don't care about your finding of a virtual cow. :)